


Holy Darkness

by digidigi_monmon



Category: Digimon Adventure, Digimon Adventure Zero Two | Digimon Adventure 02, Digimon Adventure tri.
Genre: Dark Ocean, Dark!Hikari, F/M, angst fest, but also fluff
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-04-27
Updated: 2020-05-11
Packaged: 2021-03-02 00:13:50
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 2
Words: 7,018
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23865826
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/digidigi_monmon/pseuds/digidigi_monmon
Summary: I have ALWAYS wanted to write a Takari fic. Enter this beast, a story focused on Hikari because she was grossly undervalued as a character and the Dark Ocean, the arc we all wanted but never received in 02. The darkness is back so you can bet there will be angst.
Relationships: Izumi Koushirou | Izzy Izumi/Tachikawa Mimi, Takaishi Takeru | T.K. Takaishi/Yagami Hikari | Kari Kamiya
Comments: 16
Kudos: 34





	1. Prologue: Warning Signs

**Author's Note:**

> The kiddos are the ages they were in Tri.  
> 02 characters are here and valued!  
> Disclaimer: I don't own Digimon or any of its characters.

Hikari couldn’t help herself. It was out of the way, and she knew it, but stopping at the elementary computer lab every Friday after class became a comfortably melancholic routine. The first couple of times she came had been Tuesdays, and after a student in the computer club walked in on her chatting to one of the desktops in the room, she made sure to pick a day where no one would catch her. And no one in their right minds would linger on Friday afternoons, not when the spring sunshine was still warm and inviting. 

She stood in front of one computer in particular in the back row, easing the tension in her right shoulder so her school bag dropped to the floor. It was identical to the others, but Hikari booted it up, moving the chair out of the way so she could hover over it, hoping that might intimidate it enough to work. When the login menu popped up, Hikari lifted up her Digivice. 

Nothing happened. 

“Open?” she asked in a tone hopeful that it wouldn’t be too much trouble for the computer. 

It was. 

The login screen stared back at her. Hikari huffed and pushed the power button, almost hearing Koushiro’s and Miyako’s shrieks about the importance of shutting down properly. She clipped her Digivice to the inside pocket of her bag and marched out of the room. 

Hikari’s frustration increased on her way home. After a few minutes of enjoying the warm light on her face, sheets of overlapping grey clouds rolled in, ambushing the sun and threatening showers. Groups of kids sped past her, hoping to outrun the impending rain, but Hikari’s strut remained steady. She wasn’t going to give the weather the satisfaction of rushing home at its expense. In fact, she didn’t need to go home at all yet. Taichi’s soccer team practiced in downpours, heatwaves, and everything in between. Lounging around by herself while her mom cooked dinner didn’t sound appealing, and by sticking around school after class, she had missed her opportunity to walk with Takeru, Miyako, and Iori. Walking in groups was important these days, she could focus on Miyako’s latest high school adventures or answering Iori’s questions about sixth grade tests. 

Gentle sprinkles fell. Home or stay? Stay and do what, get poured on, then fight Taichi for the bath later? Hikari relented. Standing up to the weather was a silly idea anyways. She was daydreaming about a cozy cup of tea when the hairs on her forearms stood up, and a tremor ran down her spine, warning her of being watched. She spun on her heels, but there wasn’t anyone around, just the empty beachfront. Except she saw something, a brief flicker against the waves. Hikari would have written it off as the sunlight catching the water, but the sun was hiding, apparent in the fat raindrops splatting to the ground. Only a few more minutes until the heavens would open, but Hikari forgot all about the rain, running down to the beach. She caught the flicker out of the corner of her eye. It happened again and again, until the flicker became a continuous blur, engulfing more of the space around it. 

A chasm burst open, the force knocking Hikari backwards. Arms instinctively raised in front of her face, and Hikari barred her eyes shut, bracing for impact, but no second blast came. When she opened them again, she blinked two, three times, trying to make sense of what was before her. 

It was as if the very air had been slashed to reveal a cavity the size of a vanity mirror. To its right and left were grey waters against grey clouds, but inside were green grass, large, leafy trees, and clear blue skies. Hikari couldn’t believe it. The adrenaline coursing through her body became druglike, filling her with a sense of euphoria. She knew that grass, those trees. She knew that place. She had thought about the Digital World every night for the last three years, wondering when she would visit it again. All of the Chosen daydreamed about returning, about reuniting with their partners. It was why Hikari checked the computer room each week, and why Koushiro spent more and more time behind screens in his office, trying to forge a contact with Gennai. The Digital World was a part of them, and it ached to be separated. 

But was it really there? 

Hikari pulled herself upright. Rain poured from the sky, soaking her hair, her clothes, her skin, but she barely registered the wet and cold. She stared at the gate, afraid if she dared to glance in another direction, it would disappear. She took slow steps at first, but joy overwhelmed her sense of caution and she skipped straight towards it to peer inside. From the Digital World’s side, the gate was positioned even with the ground, but angled up, so that most of Hikari’s sight was limited to rows and rows of trees. Hikari laughed, she had never been so happy about trees before. 

She needed to tell someone or she was going to explode. 

Hikari whipped out her cell phone, tapping through her favorites list. She paused at Takeru’s name, ending with the three smiley emojis he put there after stealing her phone for an entire afternoon, and sighed. She longed for things to go back to the way they used to be, before his smile made her palms sweat and his “outings” with other girls knotted her stomach together. Yes, she was an absolute idiot for falling for her best friend, so she was doing the only appropriate thing she could think of: avoiding being alone with him like the plague until those giddy feelings snuffed out. Unfortunately, dodging Takeru was an Olympic sport. Hikari swore he popped up in places like a daisy. 

She kept tapping and dialed Koushiro. 

Takeru answered. 

“Hey Hikari!” 

“Oh, Takeru?” 

“Koushiro can’t talk right now because a digital disturbance popped up on his computer program. He’s been waiting for this to happen, and now I don’t think he can make words. Mimi asked him if he thought her barrette looked cute and he didn’t even glance up from the computer. He’s been activated. Is everything okay? Wait, do I hear rain? Are you outside, Hikari?” 

Hikari felt her face flush in spite of herself. “Can you put me on speaker? Quick, please.” 

She heard the beeping from Takeru pressing buttons. 

“You’re on.” 

“Koushiro, it’s a gate.” 

Both boys on the other end of the line shouted nonsense, and Mimi squealed. Hikari heard a shuffle, a “Give it to me,” overlapping with Mimi sharply scolding, “Be polite,” and then Koushiro spoke directly in the speaker. 

“Are you sure? Where are you? What’s happening?” 

“I’m at the beach. The gate opened up above the water. It’s definitely the Digital World. I see it.” She paused while Koushiro began typing fervently over the phone. 

It _was_ real. Koushiro had even traced it. Hikari reached out to the gate. She longed to see Tailmon and the other Digimon, to run through the grass, to hug those trees. Her fingers brushed against the edge, and where she expected them to plunge through, the portal repelled her, sending shocks through her body. She yelped, and voices called her name from the other end of the line, then went silent as the call dropped. 

The scenery in the Digital World cut in and out, like it was in between radio stations. Hikari tried to pull her hand away, but she was magnetized to the gate. She was outside of it, still in the human world, but she was seeing as if on the inside. From this point of view, the gate looked more like a gaping sore, an unnatural hacking of the sky, as if someone had used a machete against the threads between worlds. The greenness she admired before muted in color. The grass withered, and the trees shed their leaves until they were nothing more than sharp, dead branches, dripping with black water. It was sludge more than liquid, seeping out of the gate, creeping and drowning anything in its path like angry flood waters. 

More gates opened around her. The Digital World was being ripped apart, and from each gate, each wound, the darkness oozed out so that it seemed like the entire world was crying. Hikari felt the pain in her own body. The blackness fell as rain onto her, each drop pricking her skin, but instead of blood more blackness leaked out of her. 

Hikari shouted out. But as quickly as the vision came, it dissipated, and beyond the gate, she saw thriving flora once more. She caught her breath, and dropped her hand back without any resistance. It sputtered and finally sealed. She waved out but there was no evidence that it had ever been there in the first place. The rain slowed, and Hikari shivered. 

Nothing hurt anymore, besides being soaked to the bone, that was good. She pulled a loose hangnail hard and was relieved to see red. She and Taichi were definitely fighting for the bathtub tonight. 

“Hikari!” 

Takeru ran up to her and held an umbrella over both of them. A few last drops fell. 

“I think it’s a little late for that,” she said. 

He took one of her hands in his, frowning. Without a moment’s thought, he took off his sweatshirt and pulled it over Hikari’s head before she could protest. Not that she would have with any real complaint. His sweatshirt was huge on her, and warm. He rubbed her arms. 

“Thanks,” she said, desperate that he wouldn’t notice her slight blush. 

“Are you alright, what happened?” 

“I touched the gate,” she said. “It reacted but didn’t let me through, and I think it broke the phone call. I saw inside the Digital World. Something’s wrong.” 

“What do you mean?”

“Wait, I’m here!” Koushiro called. He was not only carrying an umbrella but cradling his open laptop with the other hand against his torso, forcing him to sort of skip along instead of run. Mimi was bouncing behind him, throwing her hood back and holding her arms out to embrace the rain. Her face lit up with a healthy flush, while Koushiro was completely out of breath, sucking in air and bent over at the knees. Mimi slapped him on the shoulder. 

“I’ve never seen someone run and type something on a laptop before.” 

Koushiro groaned. Mimi giggled and fixated on the second most interesting thing around them which apparently was Hikari wearing Takeru’s sweatshirt. Hikari noticed the playful gleam in her friend’s eyes and immediately wanted to quash it. Don’t say anything, don’t say anything. But it was Mimi, so she said something. 

“Green is a nice color on you, Hikari.” 

Thankfully, Koushiro had recovered enough from his sudden cardio exertion to ask about the Digital Gate. 

“It’s gone,” Hikari said. She explained the one-way gate again, how when she tried to go through, her body was pushed back but she was able to see inside the gate. She left out some of the more specific and haunting details of her experience. There was no need to worry any of them, especially Takeru. 

“The Digital World is in danger,” she finished. 

Koushiro turned his laptop around so that Hikari, Takeru, and Mimi could see the screen. A grave face stared back at them. 

“That’s an understatement,” Gennai said. 

His tone was serious and foreboding, but he smiled. 

“You kids continue to grow up, don’t you? When Koushiro contacted me, I’ll admit, I was more expecting to see Taichi or Yamato, even Daisuke at the forefront. Are you not all together?” 

Koushiro chuckled. “It’s not easy to get everyone in the same room these days.” 

“Best to do it soon,” Gennai said. “I don’t know how long I’ll be able to network with your laptop. Herd everyone together in the next day or so. Hikari is correct. We have some cause for concern.” He must have somehow known that Koushiro had opened his mouth because he continued, “And don’t ask me about it now. There are still a few things I need to confirm. There’s no point in guessing. Hikari will tell everyone about the distortion, and then I’ll explain its genesis and significance to the Digital World. How goes the work on your other project?” 

“Very close to completion,” Koushiro said, bending his head forward in front of the screen. 

“Good. Have it ready tomorrow and we’ll move forward with the download.” 

Koushiro’s face paled but he assured Gennai everything would be set. 

“Good, good. Now listen, it’s important that everyone is involved. I leave it to you four to ensure that no one skips. You twelve are the Chosen for a purpose.” 

“We’ll have them in Koushiro’s office with bells on,” Mimi promised. “Even if I have to drag them there myself.” 

Koushiro was about to terminate the call, but Hikari stepped forward. 

“What do you mean distortion?” she asked. 

“Gates that shouldn’t exist, caused by imbalances between the worlds. I’ve been tracking them in the Digital World and communicating them to Koushiro. This was the first one to appear in the human world. They aren’t what they seem, bridging to desolate areas of cyberspace and beyond.” 

Hikari pursed her lips, nodding and feeling Takeru stare at her. So much for trying not to worry him. 

“I’ll have more information tomorrow. Remember, I want to see every one of you.” 

“Thanks, Gennai,” Koushiro said, closing the window. He sighed. “It’s going to be a long night.” 

Mimi’s eyes narrowed and she jabbed a finger in Koushiro’s chest. 

“Just how long have you been chatting with Gennai, huh? What sort of secret project are you working on? Are you keeping secrets from us?” 

“It’s nothing,” he muttered. With more speed than Hikari would have thought, Koushiro gently eased the laptop into his backpack and grabbed the umbrella. “Look, Gennai asked me to keep an eye on the disturbances and we collaborated on something for all of you. It’s a surprise, so I’m sorry, but I have to get back to the office to make sure there are no glitches and you’re all impeccably surprised. Can you three round everyone up? Say 3pm tomorrow? Thanks!” 

“Koushiro!” Mimi called after he had gone a dozen steps. “Make sure to get a few hours of sleep, okay? And eat dinner!” 

He stared at the ground for a moment, smiled, and lifted a thumbs up to her before taking off in a brisk walk. Mimi huffed but wore an equally amused smile. 

“You should get home and run a bath, dear,” she said, turning to Hikari. “I’ll reach out to Jou and Sora.” 

“I’ll walk her home,” Takeru said. Mimi’s eyes lit up again while Hikari rolled hers, though she felt both giddy and flustered. “And I’ll message Yamato, Miyako, and Iori.” 

“I’ll make sure Taichi, Daisuke, and Ken are there,” Hikari said. 

Mimi blew kisses as she started off in the opposite direction. Takeru continued to hold the umbrella over Hikari and half of him, even though the rain had stopped minutes ago. The day had gone reasonably well in her plan to avoid him until this mess happened, but Takeru was a daisy alright. He was there when she needed him. Hikari figured she could throw the plan out for at least tonight. She hooked her arm around his elbow. 

“You sure you’re alright?” he asked. 

“For the thousandth time, yes,” she said. “And I won’t touch any more gates. I just wanted to see them, you know? I thought if the Digital World was open again, I had to try.” 

“I do too. I probably would have done the same thing. But don’t worry, we’ll see them soon. It sounds like we have to save the world again, remember?” 

Hikari smiled, and they joked about Koushiro and Mimi for the rest of the walk to Hikari’s apartment.


	2. Push and Pull

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> What's that? Sounds like some angst and love. Featuring some good, old-fashioned sibling relationship building.This chapter is titled Push and Pull for two reasons. I wonder if you'll be able to guess what they are?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Disclaimer: I don't own Digimon or any of its characters.

Hikari dreamt of drowning.   
  
It was nighttime, and Hikari was inside the school, running up and down hallways because something was missing, and she needed to find it fast, only she didn’t know what it was. Stupid, stupid, ran through her head. She should have known what she was looking for, for the sake of her friends. It was obvious, on the tip of her tongue. Time was ticking, and she was no closer to discovering what needed to be found. She shuddered and ran, racking her brain. What was she forgetting? Why was it important? What if it was lost?  
  
Panic boiled in her chest, getting ready to burst and bubble over. Because she knew one thing. If it was lost, then she’d be lost too. And she couldn’t afford that. Her friends depended on her.  
  
Hikari ran faster. It seemed to never end, the maze of hallways, classroom after classroom. She ran despite her hamstrings tensing with pain, despite the cramps pinching her sides, despite her lungs blazing with each breath. Her body begged her to stop, but her mind pushed her forward. These aches would go away. Some pain was permanent.  
  
She rounded a corner and stopped short in front of a wide window. Looking out, Hikari noticed the faintest yellow hues popping over the horizon. Dawn was breaking. She placed her palms on the window and smiled. The sunrise. That was it.   
  
But Hikari’s calm evaporated at the sound of the school bell. It rang, rang, rang, each trill sending a tremor through her spine. The hairs on her arms stood up.  
  
No. It couldn’t happen now. She was so close. The sunrise was right there.   
  
The darkness dripped from the ceiling first, falling down the window pane in fat globs. Hikari pounded, screaming, her throat on fire, except no noise escaped her lips. Finally, she pulled away as the sludge encased the entire pane and blackened the sunrise. It was gone.   
  
Hikari took off again, a tightness in her heart that had nothing to do sprinting. It was as if a piece of the darkness had lodged itself inside of her. Faster it dripped, like someone had forgotten to turn the faucet completely off. A pit formed in her stomach and gnawed. Her throat went dry and she held herself around the middle to force down the taste of bile. Darkness fell like rain above her, piercing her skin with an unfathomable force. With every drop, memories of the Dark Ocean flooded her. The smell of rotting remnants and dank air. Feelings of worthlessness. Despair. A small part of her still knew she had to get out, but at this point, why was she bothering? It was over. The black sludge rose higher and was like moving through quicksand, soon she couldn’t lift her feet. It was time. It crept up her legs, it bowed her back over, and soon her body collapsed under its weight. Please, she cried out to the empty space, but the darkness swallowed her last breath, as silent tears ran down her face. I’m sorry. Please make it end.   
  
She gave up.  
  
***

Taichi was a light sleeper. Sure, he pretended to grumble when Hikari or his mom whacked him to wake up because he always enjoyed getting a rise out of them, but really, he had woken up as soon as someone shuffled down the hallway or glided a door shut. Months of fending for themselves in the Digital World and sleeping on the ground without knowing if they would be ambushed in the dead of night had programmed Taichi to become hyper sensitive to the lightest sounds: a branch snapping, a rustle in the bushes, Agumon’s snoring. The group told him he was the leader. It was his responsibility to keep them safe.

That mentality creeped its way back into his normal life. The sound of a door shutting shocked him awake and into a fight or flight frenzy until he realized he wasn’t using leaves as blankets and rocks as pillows. There weren’t any Digimon in his bedroom, no threats of attack, no friends to protect. Sometimes he fell back asleep once his mind was put to ease, when he realized it was his dad getting up early for work, his mom staggering to the kitchen to put on a pot of coffee, or Hikari heading to the bathroom. Other times, he was too awake, too jazzed up for a fight. He missed it somewhat, the adventure.

Taichi heard a creak and footsteps. Hikari. Past the bathroom. To the kitchen? Unusual. 

He rolled over and checked his alarm clock. 4:56AM. Too early. Something was wrong.

He wasn’t surprised. Last night, Hikari told him about the distortion and gathering the Chosen together, but she didn’t give him much detail. It was a typical Hikari move, giving enough information for Taichi to have a base understanding, but leaving out just the right amount where he wouldn’t think too much about it and find cause for worry. 

Worrying about Hikari was complicated. When she was younger, it was easier because Taichi comprehended the villains: viruses, monsters that lived in the closet, evil Digimon. As she grew up, Hikari was able to take care of herself, and Taichi was glad to see her thrive in her own skin, albeit a little bummed to drop the “big brother” guise. Her immune system strengthened, she wasn’t so frail and sickly. Monsters in the closet became a running joke once they returned home after defeating Apocalymon. And even when Hikari was called back to the Digital World, she and Tailmon made an excellent duo in battle; Taichi didn’t need to worry about her safety. 

Then the nightmares started, and it seemed like the new villain was one inside her own mind. The thing was, Taichi never stopped being a big brother. Yes, the worry lessened, but it was always a present tug on his heart. The nightmares were something he couldn’t protect her from, and he hated feeling helpless. 

He didn’t know how often Hikari was plagued with sleepless nights. It was probably more than he cared to admit, but he knew that when she came out of her room, the nightmare was particularly nasty, and Taichi heard every time Hikari slipped down the hallway, debating whether or not he should follow. A few times he peeked out to check on her, finding Hikari asleep on the couch with the lights on, but Taichi knew as soon as he retreated back to his bedroom, Hikari’s eyes would flash open. She was excellent at playing a role.

This time, he heard the clincking of glass and rummaging through drawers. She was making tea. Taichi rolled out of bed, leaving his slippers because he could sneak better with only socks on his feet. He peeked around the corner of the hallway and watched Hikari place a kettle of water on the stove. Her movements were lethargic, and she stared into space as if the demons from her dreams were still watching her. Hair was plastered to her neck in sweat. 

“You’re awake early,” Taichi said, coming around. 

Hikari jumped, and a wild fear brandished through her crimson eyes. She realized her error and stared down at her cat slippers. Too late. Taichi crossed his arms. 

“I’m sorry for waking you up.” Her voice was small, timid, afraid. 

“For someone so petite, you make an awful amount of noise.”

Taichi was relieved she looked up at him, he didn’t want his wide grin to go to waste. Her eyes were still haunted by something Taichi couldn’t see, but she offered a small, sad smile, which counted as a victory in his mind. Anything to distract her. Too often Hikari fixated, on nightmares, on negativity, on badness. It was Taichi’s job to disrupt her spiralling thoughts before they became detrimental, and she became vulnerable. 

“I’m just making some tea,” she said. “It’s okay, please, go back to bed.”

“Are you okay?”

Hikari hovered over the stovetop, warming her hands as the tea kettle groaned under the heat and looking torn between which way to answer, between lying to placate him and confiding the truth to ease her own conscience. Taichi knew which way she would lean. Whether he was irritated over a lack of restful sleep or meaningful dialogue with his sister, Taichi lost patience. 

“What am I a stranger? You can talk to me. It won’t kill you.” 

Hikari trembled, biting her lip. Taichi groaned, agitated at her, yes, but mostly himself. He didn’t want to be her enemy too. He wanted to be her brother. 

“I’m sorry,” he said. “You’re my sister. We tease each other, laugh together, you trick me into buying you ice cream. I love it and I wouldn’t change any part of our goofy relationship. But I know you hide things, the things that matter. You bury them so deep that only you can be hurt by them. You don’t have to protect me, Hikari. That’s my job.”

“I’m sure you already know why I’m out here,” Hikari mumbled, curling her lips into a soft smile. “You’re a good big brother like that.” 

“If you told me yourself I’d feel better.” 

“Nightmare.”

“Everyone has bad dreams, it’s okay to -”

“Not like mine,” she cut him off with a sharp voice. The smile was gone.

The two Yagami siblings stared at one another. Stubbornness was not a trait that was solely Taichi’s. The tea kettle shook behind them, the water inside boiling with anger and clouds of steam bursting outside from the spout, dripping down and fizzling on the hot burner. Hikari broke eye contact and moved the kettle over. Puffs continued to escape, though with less fury.

“It’s the Digital World,” she said, pulling out a second mug. “These distortions that Gennai is telling us about are going to destroy it from the inside out.”

Taichi nodded and scooted Hikari over so he could finish making the tea. With how far her head was still in her dreams, Taichi didn’t want her to burn herself on accident. He poured, and Hikari dropped in two peppermint tea bags, her favorite blend when she was feeling anxious and overwhelmed. Taichi added a spoonful of honey to each mug. 

“Just how you like it,” he said. “Let’s sit down.”

Hikari curled up under a blanket on the couch like a cat, while Taichi sat upright and cross-legged. Neither spoke for a few minutes, though Taichi glanced over at her several times. She seemed to be lost in a trance, eyes fluttering closed, holding her nose on the edge of the mug, and breathing in the aroma. He stared down into his own mug, the tea bag bobbing up and down like his own thoughts. Sometimes Hikari was the sweetest girl, full of light and life. But sometimes she frightened him. It was a subtle fear, how she knew things that no one else, not even Koushiro, could explain, how she saw things that only appeared to her, how she spoke as if she herself was in tune with the Digital World. 

“I don’t know why it’s happening,” Hikari said. Her eyes remained closed, as if she was trying to recall some lost memory. “Maybe we’ll find out this afternoon. I saw it, last night and in my nightmare, darkness seeping out of every inch of the world. It took over everything, even the sunrise. It blotted out all light. There was nothing I or we or anyone was able to do against it.”

“Where is the darkness spreading from?” Taichi asked. “Where did it originate?”

He had a guess, one that made his skin crawl. Hikari’s eyes flew open, reading the panic across Taichi’s face like an open book. He wasn’t like her, couldn’t swallow his feelings without hesitation. She sighed apologetically, trying to hide behind the mug, but that wasn’t a good enough answer for him. 

“Is it...there?”

The slightest nod.

Taichi’s eyes hardened and he squeezed his hands shut. He thought about that place he had never been.

He was 14 and a frantic Miyako was explaining on the phone that they couldn’t find Hikari. The words punched him in the gut. They couldn’t find Hikari. She had vanished out of thin air. Tailmon wasn’t with her. She was alone? What about the Digital World? She could find a safe place, hide from the Kaiser until they could find her. That worked last time. Daisuke was trying to get in, but the gate was locked. She couldn’t have gone through the computer room. Taichi didn’t understand. Not in the Digital World? Where else could she have gone? Takeru said something about the beach. The beach? Miyako was panicking, she didn’t know. She didn’t know. No one knew. What should she do? Daisuke was swearing at the computer and Iori was talking him down from punching it. Taichi wanted to throw up but he was only feet away from his mom setting down dinner plates in the kitchen. Where was Tailmon? 

Taichi would never forget the look on his sister’s face when she and Takeru had appeared back at the beach, horrors painted in both their eyes. Miyako and Iori escorted Takeru home, but Taichi noticed how he kept looking back at her, making sure she was still there. He and Daisuke walked back to their building with a silent Hikari. For days, she remained skittish. Takeru avoided him. After a week, Taichi struggled to remain sympathetic. What happened? Where were you? Who took you? He needed Hikari to speak to him. Then finally. The Dark Ocean happened. I was in the Dark Ocean. The Dark Ocean took me. 

Even now, he doubted he knew everything that had happened. But he knew enough. He wasn’t losing her again. The tension built up in his body slacked.

“Are you in danger?” he asked. 

“We all are,” she whispered. “I felt the Digital World’s pain, Taichi. In my dream, I failed, I let you down. I couldn’t make it stop. It was horrible. Every ounce of darkness produced agony. It burned. It ripped. It cut. It hurt. That’s the future if we don’t stop it from happening. And what about the Digimon? We have to help them. The darkness spread like wildfire, and it consumed everything. It won’t spare them, and I’m worried about our friends. Tailmon, Augumon, all our partners, and the Digimon who just want to live in their home in peace. They’ll suffer. It’s up to us, right? We’re the Chosen.”

She paused, and Taichi reached over to squeeze her foot underneath the blanket she had cocooned herself around. 

“We are, and it doesn’t matter what we’re up against. We’ll stop it.” 

He said it as the boy who wore goggles, the one who led them against evil and corruption. The confidence was there in his voice, but he didn’t register it in his bones. All he saw was Hikari, his little sister, carrying the weight of the world on her shoulders. They were all the Chosen, and he was somehow their leader, but she was appointed for something far greater than any of them. Hikari was connected to the Digital World in a sinister way, suffering at its expense. Taichi balled his fists for the second time that night. Why her? It should be him. He was ready to punch the couch cushion. Instead, he placed the back of his hand on Hikari’s forehead. Normal.

“I don’t have a fever,” she said.

“Habit.”

“I’ll be okay. I’m afraid, but I’ll try to be brave like you.” 

“Like me?” Taichi laughed. “I’m brave when I have to be, but you? You’ve seen things darker than my own worst dreams. That doesn’t stop you from putting on a tough skin, from pretending that you’re okay because you care more about my feelings than your own. You worrying about everyone else but yourself makes me worry a thousand times more. But you wouldn’t be Hikari if you didn’t. You have to be brave all the time, for yourself, for me, for all of our friends. You’re stronger than I’ll ever be.”

“Maybe you’re right.” 

“I am, and do you know why? Because you have the greatest group of friends. You don’t have to go through anything alone. I’m here and so is everyone else. I get why you don’t tell them. Cool, calm, and collected Yamato would probably flip his lid. Koushiro would, and is already knowing him, research everything in his power to find answers to the distortions.” Taichi swallowed. “Takeru would pull the world apart to find you. Any of them would drop everything for you, just like you would for them. Especially me. I believe that you’re strong enough to take on these battles alone, but I don’t want you to. I want you to talk to us, to me.”

“Thank you, Taichi,” Hikari said with a smile that didn’t reach her eyes, “but this isn’t just about me anymore, is it?” 

Taichi gripped his mug. No, she was wrong. It was always about her.

“I'm not going back to bed," she said. "I'm staying to watch the sunrise."

"I'll stay with you."

“I’d like that.”

***

“You’re tired,” Takeru said under his breath.

Hikari sighed. Two minutes, that’s all the time it took for him to notice. Of course his bright blue ocean eyes pierced right through the curtains she had raised: the extra coating of make-up she rubbed under her eyes hadn’t fooled him one bit. He, Miyako, and Iori walked over to pick up her, Taichi, and Daisuke on the way to Koushiro’s office. Taichi was ahead of the pack, walking at a brisk pace. Daisuke, Miyako, and Iori made up the middle, chatting in hushed whispers about what was going on. Takeru, being Takeru, purposefully held back, and Hikari being Hikari, fell into his rhythm. Had she no control? She should have known better.

“It’s nothing,” she said. 

“You look dead on your feet. I haven’t seen you like this since…” He trailed off and Hikari focused on kicking stones on the ground.

“Not you too,” she breathed back. “Taichi thinks that any minute now I’m going to vanish out of thin air.” 

Takeru stopped. “Hikari, you _have_ vanished out of thin air before.” 

She shoved him forward.

“Tell me.” 

“I don’t have to tell you anything.” 

Takeru grabbed her wrist, and Hikari stopped. She could have sworn that he had grown another inch overnight. The top of her head came up to his chin. She used to be taller than him. Takeru must have been thinking something similar because he rested his chin on top of her head. They were very close, Hikari felt his heartbeat, felt his chest rise and fall with each deep breath he took. She blushed faintly, wondering what the others would think if they turned around. Takeru was never one for personal boundaries. As counterproductive to her “remaining best friends” plan as it was, Hikari was thankful for it. In addition to being a skyscraper, Takeru was also the warmest person she knew, like a security blanket.

“I’m sorry,” she said.

“Don’t close yourself off,” he said. 

“It’s nothing, really. I had a bad dream about the distortions and the Digital World. I’m going to tell everyone about it along with the real distortion I saw last night. I’m sure they’re connected. You don’t have to worry so much.” 

“Have you met me?” He pulled away and squeezed her hand, looking her up and down, making sure she wasn’t about to dissipate.“You’re right, though. You don’t have to tell me. I’ll tell you. We’ve been waiting for this for three years. We knew it was going to return, that we would be called back. Keep your chin up. The Dark Ocean will never have a hold on you as long as you stay true to who you are, Hikari. There’s nothing you have to be afraid of, not the distortions, not the Dark Ocean, not yourself. Don’t lose hope, okay?” 

He pinched her chin, then ran to catch up to the others, beckoning for her to hurry up, but Hikari fell into a trance, trying to remember if she had just told him about the Dark Ocean or not. Even with a fuzzy, tired brain, Hikari swore she intentionally left out that detail. Sometimes Hikari knew things that she couldn’t explain. But sometimes Takeru had a way of knowing things too, knowing her. Hikari’s gaze turned from Takeru’s radiant smile to Taichi. For once, he didn’t notice her. Instead, her brother had turned around, fixated on the way Takeru seemed to be reading Hikari like an open book.

Their group was the last one to arrive. Koushiro was sitting in his usual spot, in front of two large computer monitors, one of which was hooked up to his pineapple laptop. Yamato flanked him on his right, elbows resting on top of the office chair. Taichi took the space to the left. Sora and Mimi shared one couch, and they shuffled to one side to make room for Miyako. Ken and Jou sat on the other, and Daisuke squeezed in between them while Iori hopped up on its arm. Hikari and Takeru each stood adjacent to their brothers.

The room was steeped in gloom so thick, not even Daisuke dared to break the silence. Hikari scanned around. It was too bad they didn’t try harder to get together for the good things, Taichi’s soccer games, Yamato’s concerts, or even just a lazy night of playing board games. Instead, at a last minute call to arms, everyone was braced for a funeral, heads bowed in a solemn, solitary prayer for the same thing.

“There’s a problem,” Koushiro said. “I can’t connect to Gennai.” 

“What do you mean?” Taichi asked. “He’s the one who asked us here.”

“I’m aware of that. He’s not responding.”

“That can’t be good,” Jou said. 

“Why would he ghost us?” Sora asked. “What if he’s in trouble?”

“And the Digimon too,” Mimi added. 

“Our partners are safe,” Koushiro said, typing viciously. 

The first weight was lifted. Everyone had jumped to similar thoughts, and regardless of what bad news Koushiro, Gennai, and Hikari were about to divulge, their partner Digimon would be by their side. That counted for something. Excitement buzzed and everyone began talking at once. Where were the Digimon? Could they see them? It’d been so long. 

Koushiro’s computers glowed white and a new type of hush fell over the room. 

“I’m not doing this,” he muttered, pressing various keys without success. 

“Is it Gennai?” Daisuke asked. 

“No, I’m not Gennai,” a voice said through the speakers. Koushiro stood up, and that action spurred everyone else to jump out of their seats. Jou moved behind Koushiro, placing a hand on the younger boy’s shoulder. Daisuke prepared to take out the computers if necessary, and Ken and Iori stood behind him to either hold him back or join his effort. Sora, Mimi, and Miyako stood together like three Amazonian warriors. Taichi, Yamato, Hikari, and Takeru pulled closer together, circling around Koushiro and Jou like a barricade.

“Where is he?” Taichi asked.

“Gennai is indisposed.”

Hikari’s brow furrowed. The voice sounded familiar but distant, as if she had heard it once before but couldn’t place it. It was female, but deep and sharp with an authoritative edge. 

“What’s that supposed to mean?” Yamato flared.

“Who are you?” Koushiro asked. 

“I am the being that seeks harmony for the Digital World. Gennai is currently aiding in the effort to maintain that harmony. As I’m sure you know already, balance is hanging by a thread. The fabric of worlds is unravelling.”

“I know you,” Hikari said. 

All eyes turned to her. The voice hummed, and while Hikari was sure she had encountered this being before, a bitter taste filled her mouth. She knew the voice and wanted it gone.

“Yes. I may still not have a physical body, but Gennai has made it so I am able to communicate through the network created by Knowledge while I remain shapeless.”

“You’re the one who explained why we were destined to be Chosen,” Koushiro said. “I thought you said you could only talk to us with Hikari.”

Daisuke, Ken, Miyako, and Iori all wore the same confused expression, but everyone else understood, even Hikari, whose memories of that day were vague at best. Maybe it was the fact that this being inhabited her own body without her recognition, but Hikari couldn’t shake the uncomfortable feeling of being watched by the voice. Only Yamato seemed to share in her level of unease. He peeked over at Taichi once, but crossed his arms, refusing to meet any one’s gaze. That day wouldn’t be a fond memory for him. It was Hikari discovering the voice that finally ended that ugly chapter on Yamato and Taichi’s friendship.

“That is why I am here,” the voice answered. “I will not be able to hold this connection. It is unnatural for me. I speak through Light, but its power is fading, and I can no longer call upon it. Darkness is ever lingering, its waves lapping hungrily, poised to unleash its fury on the Digital World. You have seen the distortions. You have seen the desolation that follows.” Hikari was aware that the voice was speaking directly to her. “As it grows, the balance tips. Further and further until the Digital World is swallowed by the ocean, and the two become one. It will not stop after that. Your world will not be spared.”

“What can we do?” Taichi asked.

“Gennai believes that the Chosen can restore harmony to the worlds, where light and dark remain equals. If not, the new balance will emerge. I respond to the scales.”

The voice cut in and out, and Koushiro wasted no time in hunching over his desk, trying to secure the link. The screens blazed white for a moment longer, fizzled, and then went dark. 

“It’s gone,” he said. 


End file.
